New Post Office scandal report sparks call for ‘fast action’ as software is compared to Horizon
A lawyer representing people affected by a “second Post Office IT scandal” has said they “must not” have “a long, hard battle ahead for exoneration and compensation”.
A report today found it is “a reasonable likelihood” that Capture software “created shortfalls” for sub-postmasters prior to the Horizon scandal.
The system, which was the predecessor to Horizon, was rolled out to branches from 1993 onwards.
An inquiry into the Post Office’s Horizon accounting system has heard that more than 900 sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted and received criminal convictions because the IT system made it appear as though money was missing at their branches.
At least 40 former sub-postmasters claim they were also falsely accused of stealing as a result of “glitches” in Capture.
The independent report into Capture by Kroll, a risk advisory and financial solutions company, concluded it was “a reasonable likelihood that Capture could have created shortfalls for sub postmasters”.
Kroll has not made any conclusions about the safety of criminal convictions. It did find that 13.5% of all branches may have been using Capture.
The report also discovered that sub-postmasters said that network managers and area managers pressured them to use the system.
It said that legal investigation teams weren’t looking at the question of “bugs or errors” in the system at the time.
Kroll also questioned the Capture Helpdesk remit and effectiveness.
Capture software predates the faulty Horizon system
Following the publication of the report, Neil Hudgell, a solicitor at Hudgells solicitors, told Sky News his firm is advising more than 70 people who experienced unexplained losses at their branches when Capture was in use.
He said: “Like Horizon, it was a flawed system which was destroying lives whilst officials repeatedly ignored the evidence playing out in front of their eyes.”
The independent review has only taken place “as a result of the bravery, determination and resilience of those affected, who came forward to speak about what had happened to them, and ultimately would not let injustice go unchallenged”, he added.
Mr Hudgell is calling for “fast action on these failings” including the creation of a compensation scheme to allow people to “seek speedy settlements, or to further investigate their own individual cases”.
“It should never have needed such a long, hard battle to reach this stage, and there now must not be a long, hard battle ahead for exoneration and compensation,” he said. “As we have seen this year, new legislation can be fast-tracked and introduced to overturn unsafe convictions and clear peoples’ names.”
Lord Beamish, formerly MP Kevan Jones, was at the report briefing meeting and said he believes that records on Capture “do exist”.
“I think some more digging needs to be done at the Post Office,” he said. “I wouldn’t trust the Post Office as far as I can spit.”
He described it as a “copycat” of the Horizon scandal.
A Post Office spokesperson said: “We have, and will continue to, fully support the independent forensic accountancy investigation established by the government into the Capture software.
“We have been very concerned from the outset about the reported problems relating to the use of the Capture software in the 1990s and are sincerely sorry for past failings that have caused suffering to postmasters.
“We remain determined that wrongs must be put right as far as that can be possible.”
Earlier this year, Sky News revealed that the government agreed to have an independent expert review evidence of Capture.
A group of sub-postmasters submitted material, including floppy disks containing the software, to investigators.
They claimed that errors occurred when upgrades were made to Capture, and power cuts were also another possible reason for faults.
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Sub-postmasters previously raised parallels between Capture and Horizon
Steve Marston, 68, says he was wrongly convicted of theft and false accounting after errors caused by Capture accounting software.
Auditors found shortfalls of £79,000 at his branch in Greater Manchester in 1998 – he subsequently pleaded guilty to theft and false accounting.
He said Capture “was totally unfit for use and should never have been released”.
He claims that sub-postmasters were told that “[the software] would make our lives easier and that we would no longer have to do manual accounting as we had in the past”.
He says he was given Capture by the Post Office “and basically left to get on with it without any sort of guidance”.
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Another Capture victim, Steve Lewis, lost his job in 2000 after raising concerns about shortfalls and Capture software glitches.
“I’ve always been looked on as being the man who robbed the Post Office,” he said.
“I lost my post office, the commercial buildings that I had moved my office to, and was forced to sell my family home.”
Mr Lewis claims he was warned “not to be a troublemaker” and told the issues were only happening to him.
It wasn’t until he watched the TV drama, Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, that he “realised” similarities between Horizon victims and himself such as “unexplained losses”.
Documents seen by Sky News also show the Post Office knew Capture was prone to glitches which could cause accounting issues.
In January, the government ordered the Post Office to investigate the claims related to Capture.
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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